Josh Yeo

"Josh, you like to put yourself in the most uncomfortable positions and then fight your way out. It's equally inspiring as it is stressful to watch you dive head first into things you have no business doing. But the crazy thing is, you always pull it off. You manage to figure it out and turn something foreign and daunting into something accessible and beautiful. Something is wrong with you."

I am a 31-year-old "failed actor", a badge I fully embrace as its been a year now that I've decided to channel my love of storytelling into a more tangible direction. I'm deeply grateful for the years spent training as an actor, it fertilized the soil for a deeper, more fulfilling path ahead.

Last year, I produced and directed my first piece of art, a Burning Man short film, "Deep Playa Sunrise". It was the first time I had asked people to invest money into a dream of mine.

The production was anything but a dream. Filming at Burning Man was a logistical nightmare, to say the least and sandstorms, dehydration and sun fatigue got the best of us five days in a row.

If you want to know the full list of production woes, Naked magazine wrote up a brilliant piece describing them in detail. Read here https://goo.gl/YpNqPh

I will say it was the most difficult thing I've ever done and like my "failed acting career" I am grateful for the wisdom it taught me.

As of late, Deep Playa Sunrise is makings it's rounds to film festivals and is offering those outside of Burning man, a glimpse of the magic that attracts 70,000 people to the bleakest part of the Black Rock Desert year in and out.

It seems funny to me that a year ago exactly I had no idea what shape the film would take, or if it would ever be finished. I had my fair share of mental breakdowns and sleepless nights but after everything was said and done, it is a piece of art that I am proud to say I suffered thru.

In my darkest hour, inspiration hit, and I was able to reshoot missing pieces of the film and unearth the story that was buried inside me. It was a breakthrough for me as an artist and gave me what my acting career never provided, a long slow burning flame of confidence and gratitude.

Now that the film is taking a second life of its own, my own attachment has drifted to other projects and it seems I'm ready to jump into an uncomfortable position again.

The Elevator Time Machine is my first art piece in the physical space.What I learned most from my last body of work is that art is never "bad", it's just unrealized.

I see many sleepless nights ahead, and a look forward to diving headfirst into the abyss of the great unknown.

If you'd like to see a private screener of Deep Playa Sunrise, you can view it here,